Storm, written by Emma Jensen, tells the story of the passionate love affair between dangerously charismatic poet Percy Shelley and 17-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft, who would a year later write Frankenstein as Mary Shelley. (Fanning will play the budding writer.)

The script aims to tell of the tumult of first love of a young woman out of step with her time (Mary was well-educated and came from a family of intellectuals) who wrote one of the first pieces of literary genre fiction in modern times.

The project is seen as a perfect fit for Al-Mansour, who is the first female director out of Saudi Arabia and whose breakthrough film, Wadjda, tackled similar themes of a young woman out of step with her country’s culture.

"Elle is amazingly smart and talented and very much relates to Mary as a young woman," said Baer. "She is going to do something extraordinary in this role that will transition her from a compelling young adult to a formidable leading lady."

The project is in the midst of securing financing and is looking to shoot in 2015.

The 16-year-old Fanning is one of Hollywood’s rising actresses, with Maleficent giving her profile a significant boost. Storm marks the second feature project she has come on to in the wake of the movie’s success; earlier in July Fanning signed to star in How to Talk to Girls at Parties, an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story that will be directed by John Cameron Mitchell.